“In respect of the Palestinian call for a cultural boycott of Israel, we ask musicians of conscience to boycott the Tel Aviv White City Music Festival.”

The cultural boycott is a very important aspect the BDS movement. The cultural boycott is evidenced as being so very important because of the vast amount of money Israel spends specifically to counteract that aspect of the boycott.

It appears artists are often told by their Israeli booking agents that music brings people together, and that BDS builds walls. Recently an artist wrote that he would not boycott his Israeli fans. The UK group Younger Brother insisted that their concert would help bring peace through music, and that their Israeli fans were all about peace.

International artists that participate in Israeli government supported festivals are participating in an insidious effort by the powerful oppressive state of Israel to “normalize” the settler-colonial policies. There is nothing normal about extreme racism, the crushing oppression of education and the illegal apartheid wall. It is so ironic, then, when artists who break the boycott say that BDS builds walls. These is no wall that stands out on the face of this planet that is used like the wall Israel has created. The wall illegally annexes Palestinian land, cuts off families, schools, and access to jobs. It erases views of the sunrise and sunset, and is strewn with trash, dotted with sniper towers, and dehumazing checkpoints. Even cattle are treated better than some Palestinians who wait for hours in the heat or cold only to be buzzed through a checkpoint with an automated program, controlled remotely.

For a full listing of artists who are booked to play White City, see http://www.tlv-music.com/en/Artists. One artist recently stated via twitter, “You’re right, I was unaware of any cultural boycott, although certainly aware of the situation.” (Rock musician Scott McCaughey on twitter on 1 April). If McCaughey had been aware of the boycott, he may have been much less willing to play in Israel. No artist of conscience should desire to be a part of the strategy by Israel to normalize what can never be sustained. Apartheid.